Adobe Reader update question
 

Hi all, can someone tell me why I can't seem to update Adobe Reader 8 to Adobe Reader 11 on my Windows XP? I was trying to open a pdf and it told me to update it so I dl-ed it, saved it and then ran it. Then, nothing. It wouldn't do anything. When I tried to check for updates again, it keeps saying none are available. It's as if it's updated but it won't let me actually USE the update.

I haven't updated AR in a while. Could that be it?

Any help would be appreciated...

Btw, my system still says I have an AR 8, not AR 11. So I guess it hasn't updated. But it won't let me "find" any more updates.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

Yeah, your best option is to uninstall and reinstall the program. I get these same issues with Adobe Flash. Of course, I'm one of these people who recommends FoxIt (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/), because it's much faster, much lighter on resources than Adobe Reader, and 100% compatible. It's also free.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

Thanks for the response and you're right I had to uninstall AR 8. AR 11 installed fine after that. One question: can I have both FoxIt and AR on my system? I'd like to try it.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

Yes, you can have both installed, however only one of them can be the default for opening PDFs. But you can easily right-click and choose "Open With..." to pick the program you'd like to use for that instance, so it's not much more cumbersome.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

What RM said. :D

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

I've used Foxit for years and much prefer it to Adobe. I thought it was 100% compatible, but I have come across one instance where it is not. There is one .pdf I've downloaded from grants.gov, the US government central website for grant applications, that Foxit cannot open. The website specifically says that you must have Adobe Reader and it will even check your computer for it before it will let you download it. I had to have it as part of a grant application, so I had to download and install Adobe Reader. Once I got it I tried to open it with Foxit and sure enough, Foxit can't open it at all. I don't know why, or why the document couldn't have been made in such a way that other, non-Adobe, pdf software could open it, but nevertheless that's the case here. In spite of that, I still much prefer Foxit to Adobe and that one document is the only one I use Adobe for.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

Hm. That is odd! I'm glad I haven't come across that problem yet, and I hope it doesn't become common practice by pdf creators.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

^I agree wholeheartedly!

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

I have, though it is extremely rare. Usually also requires that you have the most current version too, which is annoying.

Re: Adobe Reader update question
 

Thanks to both of you. I'll try it.